


in the end, we all go the same

by neoncrayolas



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Ending, Developing Relationship, Found Family, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Team Free Will (Supernatural), honestly we all know that finale was garbage, hopefully i did something justice, so here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:41:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27648323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neoncrayolas/pseuds/neoncrayolas
Summary: Dean thought driving in Heaven would be the same as it was on Earth.There he was, in his baby, barreling down a two-lane highway in some middle of the map state, radio blasting, with a freaking pie that had appeared next to him in the front seat. It should have been the perfect scene.It should have been the same.So why did it feel so different?
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	in the end, we all go the same

**Author's Note:**

> The ending we DESERVED. Team Free Will forever. 
> 
> Also, it's very important to note that I haven't watched Supernatural regularly since season 7. I've seen a couple of episodes here and there, watched the scene with Cas a few weeks ago (note: I said scene, not episode lol), and I watched the finale last night because, well, to quote Monica from Friends: "It's the end of an ERA." 
> 
> And then was sorely disappointed, like many of us. But my point is, I may have gotten some things wrong, mostly because I don't know and only have secondhand knowledge to go off of, and tbh I don't really care to look it up lol. 
> 
> The title is from "We All Go The Same" by Radical Face. Normally I put title notes at the end, but in this instance, this song goes really well with not only this fic, but the whole tone of the end, so if you like to listen to music while reading, I'd recommend that song!

Dean thought driving in Heaven would be the same as it was on Earth.

There he was, in his baby, barreling down a two-lane highway in some middle of the map state, radio blasting, with a freaking _pie_ that had appeared next to him in the front seat. It should have been the perfect scene.

It should have been the same.

So why did it feel so different?

He knew the answer – he didn’t even have to think about it. It was automatic.

Sam wasn’t in the passenger seat with him, ribbing him about his music choice, or talking his ear off about the hunt they were heading towards. Castiel wasn’t in the backseat quietly observing the two brothers, offering his (most of the time irrelevant) input.

He was alone. For the first time in 15 years, he was alone.

And he hated it.

He knew it was selfish, to wish that Sam would hurry up and – well, _die –_ so he could have some company. But he also remembered Bobby saying that time worked differently up here, so he figured Sam would be along soon enough.

But the more he drove, the more he thought: Sam really wasn’t the one he was worried about. Bobby was there, had said his mom and dad were close by too. That left one person, though – one person he still wondered about, had been wondering about for weeks. The one person he perhaps would never know what happened to – and that thought left an ache greater than Dean thought he’d ever felt before.

Because he wasn’t sure where Castiel had ended up – wasn’t sure if he would ever get out of the Empty, wasn’t sure if that’s even where he was anymore.

Everything that had happened in the last ten, eleven, twelve years – Dean didn’t know if Cas even deserved to be in Heaven.

But then again, neither did Dean. He sure as hell didn’t belong up here.

And seriously, while they were on that subject, how the hell did a fucking _rebar_ manage to take him out? He’d been shot, stabbed, torn to bits by hellhounds, abducted by aliens, had _literally been to hell_ , survived all of the shit they went through – and a fucking pole killed him.

He would definitely be having a talk with Jack when he finally saw him.

“Hello, Dean.”

Dean was so lost in his thoughts that when he heard the voice coming from the passenger seat, he almost had a goddamn heart attack.

“ _Jesus_ , motherfucker –”

Dean slammed on the brakes, almost swerving off the side of the road.

“Did I startle you?”

“You fucking think?” Dean said, hand over his heart, which was currently hammering away like a jack rabbit. “What the hell are you doing here, Cas?”

But even as he said it, a piece clicked into place – it was almost right, and suddenly Dean never wanted to be parted from Castiel again.

“It seems that in his renovations, Jack has gotten rid of the Empty, and he put me here.”

Dean was at a loss for words. _Of course_ he was thinking about the last time he saw Cas, the last time he spoke with him – when he watched him get ripped away from the Earth one final time.

“Why’d you say it?” Dean finally asked quietly. His hands were on the steering wheel, and he was staring straight ahead. He couldn’t bring himself to quite look at the other man just yet.

“Because it’s true, Dean.”

“But why then? Why not a long time ago? Why not – I mean, how long –”

He stopped talking, not even sure where he was going. He didn’t know how to make sense of his jumbled thoughts and words, tangled together like vines. But Cas seemed to have a lot to say, and he kept talking.

“I never knew there was a word for the love I had for my brothers, for my father – even the love I developed for Sam, eventually. I didn’t know how to describe that feeling, I just knew that it was there. But once I learned there was a word for it, I realized it was different than what I felt for you, Dean. You were – I broke the rules for you, Dean, so many times. You know that. And you know that was something I was never prepared to do, until I met you. You were worth it. You were worth everything, Dean Winchester. Every rule broken, every sin committed, every scar gotten – you were worth it. It didn’t take me too long to realize that.” 

“Don’t get all weepy on me,” Dean muttered, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. He finally looked to the other man, still wearing that same trench coat after all of these years, looking at Dean with a look that Dean had come to be very familiar with – something he’d never really been able to place until Cas’s confession a few weeks prior.

It was a look of comfort, of home, of _trust_. Something that didn’t come lightly in their world.

Yet Cas had always had that look for Dean. And Dean knew he’d always had it for Cas.

“I love you, too.”

There it was. Something he supposes he’d been feeling for years, but something he’d never said out loud to anyone but Sam and Bobby.

But it was true.

Cas smiled at him, a rare smile that Dean realized he loved seeing more than anything in the world. It made him feel warm and safe and like he could do anything.

Nothing else needed to be said in that moment.

They knew.

~

The two men drove in silence for a little while longer, before Dean pulled the car over on a bridge, getting the feeling that he was supposed to stop here. It was a bridge reminiscent of the first case he’d worked with Sam all those years ago.

Before Dean got out of the car, he reached out to put a hand on Cas’s shoulder, squeezing it briefly. They’d talk more later – there would be plenty of time for that. Right now, though, there was something else they had to do – someone they had to wait for. 

They both climbed out of the car, going to stand at the railing, overlooking the serene scene in front of them. Dean was sure he’d seen countless landscapes like this before, but this one struck a nerve deep within him, a chord he couldn’t quite place.

“You know, I’ve never seen Heaven quite like this,” Cas said, standing close enough to Dean that their shoulders were pressed together. “I spent a lot of time up here, Dean, but I never knew it could feel like this.”

“I thought I’d booked myself a one-way ticket back to Hell,” Dean admitted. “Never thought I’d get to experience something this nice.”

The two men were quiet again, lapsing into a comfortable silence.

And then Dean felt it.

A smile spread across his face, and without turning around, he said, “Hey, Sammy.”

Cas turned around first, his own face breaking out into another smile. When Dean did turn around, Sam had thrown his arms around Cas, laughing in disbelief. And then he met Dean’s eyes as Dean stepped forward.

“’Bout time you got here, Sammy,” Dean joked. He sighed as Sam folded his arms around Dean’s shoulders, pulling him close.

When they pulled away from each other, Dean reached his arm out, pulling Cas close. He hadn’t told Sam what Cas had said, but knew Sam was smart enough to have figured it out years ago.

And this – this was what Dean was missing. His brother, and his other half.

Team Free Will.

Standing on the edge of the peace they deserved.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
